A 14-year-old girl who was reported missing after she was last seen at a Houston ISD campus on Monday has been found, according to Texas DPS.
An Amber Alert was issued for Marisol Avila on Tuesday night. In an update Wednesday morning, officials said the teen had been found. No further information about the circumstances of where or how she was found was released by authorities.
Reporters spoke to Marisol’s mother, who said her daughter was located on Adelia Street near Liberty Road before she was taken to the hospital to be checked out by medical staff. She said two people were detained.
Houston police were treating Marisol’s disappearance as an abduction. She was last seen at 9:23 a.m. Monday at Marshall Middle School, located at 1115 Noble St. on Houston’s northside.
Family friends said Marisol’s phone and all of her belongings were found in her locker, and that her social media was no longer active.
The Texas Department of Public Safety shared a stock photo of a car they were searching for in connection to her disappearance. It’s a tan, 1990 Subaru Forester with Texas plates. The exact license plate number was unknown.
Before she was found, Marisol’s mother told reporters in Spanish, “Neighbors, gas stations, anyone who might have seen her, please talk to the police so that she can return home. We’re waiting for her, her sisters, her dad. We just want her back. We want her back with us.”
HISD didn’t provide many details, but did say, “we take these situations very seriously, as the safety of our students is always our absolute top priority,” in a statement on Wednesday morning.
The following is the district’s full statement:
“The Houston Independent School district is aware of an incident that occurred Tuesday, 5/23/23 involving a Marshall Middle School student. HISD police and the Houston Police Department are currently investigating, and extra officers have been assigned to patrol the area surrounding the school. Please know that we take these situations very seriously, as the safety of our students is always our absolute top priority. If you see any suspicious activity or have any information about the incident, we ask that you contact the HISD Police Department immediately at 713-892-7777 or call 911. Due to the ongoing investigation and the Family Education Right’s Privacy Act (FERPA), HISD will not be providing additional information at this time.”